Prof William (Bill) Austin

Professor

Phone: +44 (0)1334 46 3988
Email: wena@st-andrews.ac.uk

Research areas

Palaeoceanography, Marine Geology, Foraminifera, Stable Isotopes, Climate Change.

See Environmental Change Research Group for more information.

My research focus is directed primarily at reconstructing past climate change from marine records, with a particular focus on the late Quaternary. I work extensively with foraminifera and have a growing research interest in the use of biogeochemical proxies and their application to foraminiferal-based palaeoceanography. Over the last decade, I have established a research interest in the application of tephrochronology to constrain North Atlantic stratigraphies, an interest which overlaps with recent work on marine radiocarbon reservoir ages. The primary geographical focus of my research is the North Atlantic continental margins and shelf seas.

PhD supervision

Lauren Carl
Aysegul Dogan
Cathilyn McIntosh
Lauren South

Selected publications

Open access
A marine and salt marsh sediment organic carbon database for European regional seas (EURO-CARBON)
Graversen, A. E. L., Lønborg, C., Addamo, A. M., Pedersen, S. G., Chemello, S., Alejo, I., Apostolaki, E. T., Asplund, M. E., Austin, W. E. N., Berov, D., Berto, D., Björk, M., Black, K., Bobchev, N., Bonaglia, S., Borgersen, G., Bouma, T., Costello, M. J., Dahl, M. & Diaz-Almela, E. & 72 others, Dimitriou, P. D., Duarte, C. M., Dueñas, C. L., Efthymiadis, P. T., Elosegui, I. M., Espinosa, M. R., Filipsson, H. L., Fontela, M., Fredriksen, S., Frigstad, H., Gagnon, K., Garcia-Escudero, C. A., Giani, M., Grouhel-Pellouin, A., Guerra, R., Gullström, M., Gundersen, H., Hancke, K., Majtényi-Hill, C., Hunt, C., Inostroza, K., Karakassis, I., Karamfilov, V., Klayn, S., Koziorowska, K., Kuliński, K., Lavery, P., Lenstra, W. K., Lillebø, A. I., Logemann, E., Magni, P., Marbà, N., Marco-Mendez, C., Martins, M., Mateo, M. A., Monnier, B., Mueller, P., Neto, J. M., Papageorgiou, N., de Rezende, C. E., Pardo, J. C. F., Peña, J. A. J. D. L., Pergent, G., Piñeiro-Juncal, N., Preston, J., Rampazzo, F., Reithmaier, G., Reusch, T. B. H., Reynolds, S., Ricart, A. M., Santos, R., de los Santos, C. B., Santos, I. R., Serrano, E., Serrano, O., Slomp, C. P., Smeaton, C., Soler, M., Sousa, A. I., Spiegel, T., Stevenson, A., Thormar, J., Trannum, H. C., van Helmond, N. A. G. M., Paradis, S., Vizzini, S., Ward, E. A., Yau, Y. Y. Y., Zakhama-Sraieb, R., Zribi, I., Zygadlowska, O. M. & Jensen, D. K., 1 Jun 2025, In: Data in Brief. 60, 14 p., 111595.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access
Blue carbon in India: opportunities informed by the most recent science
Austin, W. E. N., Apine, E. & South, L., 28 Aug 2025, Zenodo. 94 p.
Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
Open access
Old carbon, new insights: thermal reactivity and bioavailability of saltmarsh soils
Houston, A., Garnett, M. H. & Austin, W. E. N., 23 Sept 2025, In: Biogeosciences. 22, 18, p. 4851-4864 14 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access
Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of a fjord catchment NW Scotland, UK since the Last Glacial Maximum: a multi-geochemical approach
Taylor , J., Selby, D., Lloyd, J., Smeaton, C., Bendle, J., Allison, M., Ling, Y., Podrecca, L., Sageman, B., Austin, W. & Szidat, S., 15 May 2025, In: Quaternary Science Reviews. 356, 16 p., 109311.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access
Soil Organic Carbon Storage in Coastal Golf Courses: Understanding Carbon Storage for Climate Positive Action in Golf Course Landscapes
Austin, W., Smeaton, C., Flynn, A. & Macdonald, A., 13 Nov 2025, Royal and Ancient . 21 p.
Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
Open access
Additionality in blue carbon ecosystems: recommendations for a universally applicable accounting methodology
Houston, A., Kennedy, H. & Austin, W., 4 Nov 2024, In: Global Change Biology. 30, 11, 9 p., e17559.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access
Blue carbon additionality: new insights from the radiocarbon content of saltmarsh soils and their respired CO₂
Houston, A., Garnett, M. & Austin, W., 1 Mar 2024, In: Limnology and Oceanography. 69, 3, p. 548-561 14 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Fjords as globally significant hotspots for carbon burial and storage
Austin, W. & Smeaton, C., 7 Jul 2024, Online: Marine Scotland. 19 p.
Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
Open access
Organic carbon accumulation in British saltmarshes
Smeaton, C., Garrett, E., Koot, M., Ladd, C., Miller, L., McMahon, L., Foster, B., Barlow, N., Blake, W., Gehrels, R., Skov, M. & Austin, W., 3 Apr 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Science of the Total Environment. 926, 12 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access
Saltmarsh blue carbon accumulation rates and their relationship with sea-level rise on a multi-decadal timescale in northern England
Gore, C., Gehrels , R., Smeaton, C., Andrews, L., McMahon, L., Hibbert, F., Austin, W., Nolte, S. & Garrett, E., Apr 2024, In: Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 299, 11 p., 108665.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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